DC Council Game 24: Wizards 68 at Pistons 100: Nine Available Players, Fractions of Talent

[D.C. Council: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the subs, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is on the table. Game No. 24, Washington Wizards at Detroit Pistons; contributors: Rashad Mobley and Kyle Weidie from behind the T.V.]

Don, Randy. Randy, Don.

MVP: Rookie Andre Drummond offered 11 points (5-for-7 FGs) and 14 rebounds in just 21 minutes. He also swatted just about everything (5 blocks) and made Kevin Seraphin look like the rookie.

Stat of the Game: So with only nine players, Randy Wittman played 16 different lineups, eight of those 5-man units spent three or more minutes on the court together. The starters played 12 minutes together, finished minus-15 in plus/minus. The second-most used lineup featured Livingston, Crawford, Webster, Vesely, and Okafor; five minutes and plus-one. But in a game like this, throw plus/minus out the door. The Wizards shot 32.9 percent and could be considered brick hoarders with all the open jumpers they missed.

Missing Breezes.

The Wizards lost this game in the first 7:36 of the first quarter when they started off shooting 1-for-13. Jordan Crawford missed 20-foot jumpers and layups, Kevin Seraphin missed mid-range J’s and hook shots, Okafor and Shaun Livingston missed mid-range shots as well, and Martell Webster missed layups. There was no rhythm, no fluidity, and no energy. Even Randy Wittman quipped after the game that he would have turned this performance off after the first five minutes. The Pistons weren’t exactly conjuring up memories of the 1985 Villanova Wildcats with their 38 percent shooting in the first quarter, but they were miles ahead of the Wizards and their 26 percent shooting display. There have been times this season when the Wizards played much better than their 3-21 record would indicate, but tonight they managed to play much worse.

Shaun Livingston has played the point guard position since he was in high school, and his 6-foot-7 height has always given him a distinct advantage. Jordan Crawford has been a scorer all his life, and is just now learning the nuances of being a full-time point guard. But of late, Livingston looks slow and indecisive with minimal impact, while Crawford—bad shots and all—has been scoring, dishing and rebounding. Part of being a good point guard is being able to diagnose situations on the court and make the necessary adjustments on the fly. The Wizards needed Livingston to be aggressive offensively due to the lack of bodies, but instead he continued be passive. He shot 2-for-5 (9 points), with six rebounds and two assists. The Shaun Livingston experience continues to be a disappointment.

1 out of 3 stars

Who else gonna shoot? No one, literally. In 37 minutes in a blowout, Jordan Crawford attempted 27 percent of Washington’s shots, and he made 36 percent of the team’s field goals. In the first half, Crawford attempted 36 percent of the Wizards’ shots, making 47 percent of team makes. His 20 points on 23 shots led the game, and he also contributed seven assists, four turnovers and seven rebounds. And while Crawford made some nice passes, via general talent, the Pistons easily took him and the Wizards out of the offense from the start. Plus, he’s too small to be able to finish like a player who needs to carry his team.

1.5 out of 3 stars

Webster was one of the few players who seemed to be hustling, despite his lack of a jumper. He had 10 points, nine rebounds and five assists in a team-high 40 minutes of play. At one point, as Kyle Weidie pointed out, Webster rebounded his own miss, and passed the ball out to Cartier Martin for an open 3-pointer. Sadly, Webster’s hustle plays were nowhere near as contagious as his personality.

1 out of 3 stars

If Wizards fans heard that one of their players shot 5-for-18, and they had one guess as to who it was, the answer would undoubtedly be Jordan Crawford. In Detroit, Kevin Seraphin, a 6-foot-9 center, did the honors. It was mostly thanks to Pistons forward Jason Maxiell, who continually pushed Seraphin off his comfort zone on the block, and Andre Drummond who blocked three of his shots. To make matters worse, Seraphin did not take a solitary trip to the foul line in 30 minutes of play—an amazing feat for a man who weighs 275 lbs, and spends 80 percent of the game in the paint.

1 out of 3 stars

Emeka Okafor had eight points, eight shots and eight rebounds in just over 22 minutes. One of the shots he hit was a jumper. It made me recall the days from training camp, early in the season, when it looked like his jumper might be useful. And maybe the entire assessment would’ve been different with Nene and Okafor pairing up from the start, as intended. Plus/minus in the 42 limit minutes they’ve spent together on the court is off the charts at plus-32. Otherwise, Okafor is quite terrible as a primary offensive presence in the paint. There’s also been his apathetic rebounding, but… whatever.

1 out of 3 stars

In a sense, a pessimistic way of looking at things, from Ted Leonsis’ perspective, would be: “Hey, only nine available players! Look at all the injuries!”The optimistic view, however: Opportunity aplenty for the chosen ones—the youthful ghosts of Wizards future—is available with only nine available players. Chris Singleton has gone from starting to a disappearing act under these circumstances. Randy Wittman mustered 15 minutes for Singleton in Detroit; the player, in return, missed two shots, got four rebounds and committed one turnover. On one possession he dribbled off his foot, on another he bumbled a nice pass from Jordan Crawford… and that was about it.

With so much opportunity last yeaer in a meaningless lockout-shortened season, both Singleton and Jan Vesely are dwindling opportunities this year in another meaningless season.

0 out of 3 stars

Vesely committed unnecessary fouls, he missed easy shots at point blank range, and he continues to be a liability with his lack of strength. But he also played a season-high 25 minutes, and he had his highest scoring output (6 points) since opening night in Cleveland when he scored seven points. He especially excelled in the open court when he got a chance to run, which bodes well for Vesely once John Wall returns … whenever that is. Perhaps Coach Wittman saw enough spark from Vesely to give him a chance tomorrow night in the rematch against the Pistons.

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